42 USC 2181 – Inventions relating to atomic weapons, and filing of reports
(a) Denial of patent; revocation of prior patents
No patent shall hereafter be granted for any invention or discovery which is useful solely in the utilization of special nuclear material or atomic energy in an atomic weapon. Any patent granted for any such invention or discovery is revoked, and just compensation shall be made therefor.
(b) Denial of rights; revocation of prior rights
Terms Used In 42 USC 2181
- atomic energy: means all forms of energy released in the course of nuclear fission or nuclear transformation. See 42 USC 2014
- atomic weapon: means any device utilizing atomic energy, exclusive of the means for transporting or propelling the device (where such means is a separable and divisible part of the device), the principal purpose of which is for use as, or for development of, a weapon, a weapon prototype, or a weapon test device. See 42 USC 2014
- Commission: means the Atomic Energy Commission. See 42 USC 2014
- Discovery: Lawyers' examination, before trial, of facts and documents in possession of the opponents to help the lawyers prepare for trial.
- person: means (1) any individual, corporation, partnership, firm, association, trust, estate, public or private institution, group, Government agency other than the Commission, any State or any political subdivision of, or any political entity within a State, any foreign government or nation or any political subdivision of any such government or nation, or other entity. See 42 USC 2014
- special nuclear material: means (1) plutonium, uranium enriched in the isotope 233 or in the isotope 235, and any other material which the Commission, pursuant to the provisions of section 2071 of this title, determines to be special nuclear material, but does not include source material. See 42 USC 2014
- United States: when used in a geographical sense includes all territories and possessions of the United States, the Canal Zone and Puerto Rico. See 42 USC 2014
No patent hereafter granted shall confer any rights with respect to any invention or discovery to the extent that such invention or discovery is used in the utilization of special nuclear material or atomic energy in atomic weapons. Any rights conferred by any patent heretofore granted for any invention or discovery are revoked to the extent that such invention or discovery is so used, and just compensation shall be made therefor.
(c) Report of invention to Under Secretary of Commerce for Intellectual Property and Director of the United States Patent and Trademark Office
Any person who has made or hereafter makes any invention or discovery useful in the production or utilization of special nuclear material or atomic energy, shall file with the Commission a report containing a complete description thereof unless such invention or discovery is described in an application for a patent filed with the Under Secretary of Commerce for Intellectual Property and Director of the United States Patent and Trademark Office by such person within the time required for the filing of such report. The report covering any such invention or discovery shall be filed on or before the one hundred and eightieth day after such person first discovers or first has reason to believe that such invention or discovery is useful in such production or utilization.
(d) Report to Commission by Under Secretary of Commerce for Intellectual Property and Director of the United States Patent and Trademark Office
The Under Secretary of Commerce for Intellectual Property and Director of the United States Patent and Trademark Office shall notify the Commission of all applications for patents heretofore or hereafter filed which, in his opinion, disclose inventions or discoveries required to be reported under subsection (c), and shall provide the Commission access to all such applications.
(e) Confidential information; circumstances permitting disclosure
Reports filed pursuant to subsection (c) of this section, and applications to which access is provided under subsection (d) of this section, shall be kept in confidence by the Commission, and no information concerning the same given without authority of the inventor or owner unless necessary to carry out the provisions of any Act of Congress or in such special circumstances as may be determined by the Commission.